What Happened To Safe Cig?

Safe Cig went radio silent around January 28th when its site went down and no one seemed to know why (though we have our suspicions). Even the Safe Cig Twitter feed hosts its last tweet from January 22nd. The absence has come at a bit of a shock. Still, that hasn’t prevented e-cig company V2 making a play for Safe Cig customers. The two primary suspicions: buyout or bust.

The Safe Cig is one of the bigger electronic cigarette vendors, but word is that they’ve been having trouble. Their brand (use of the word safe) made them a prime target for arguments that e-cig companies were making inappropriate harm related claims. Although the science is rapidly proving electronic cigarettes to be a far healthier alternative to smoking, Safe was probably considering a change in brand soon to alleviate these issues.

In the absence of detailed information, most of this article is conjecture, rumor mongering, and out-right best guessing on the part of the writer. We know this, but it’s still worth thinking about.

At the same time, rumors are flying that Safe was having inventory and distribution issues. Customers were dropping off because they weren’t getting their orders. They wouldn’t be the first company to experience issues with supplies. E-cig company Stog was forced to retool not too long ago for similar issues with suppliers. Some suggest this could mean the company is going bust, having failed to retain enough customers to stay afloat.

A member of Ecig Advanced’s team reached out to Safe’s owner, Robert Deak, but was told no information could be shared citing that team member’s involvement with another e-cig company. Sounds like Safe might not be going anywhere, but we could be wrong. This could suggest that the company is retooling and relaunching as a new brand or is being purchased (which seems more likely).

The writer has a more complicated guess. A pharmaceuticals company might be looking for a way to break into the electronic cigarette market on the cessation side of the market. A company like Pfizer or Glaxosmithkline has the money to do clinical trials and research into the damage of their products and sell them as the safest option on the market. The Safe Cig could be the perfect brand for such an endeavor. If this is the case, the products and employees of the company don’t matter at all compared to simply owning the brand.

Studies are showing electronic cigarettes could be the strongest cessation option on the market once organizations like the FDA feel they have enough proof to allow them to be marketed as such. Give it a year or so and we could see Pfizer’s Safe Cig offering clean delivery of nicotine, 25% enduring cessation rate, and a 200% mark up from other e-cigs on the market.

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Comments

37 Responses to “What Happened To Safe Cig?”

robovape on
February 12th, 2013 8:54 pm

i like your theory on a big pharm company trying to get an edge in the market… i think it would be a great move on their part, especially owning the name… but if this is that they blew it BIGTIME by dropping the customer base they already had…

it may be interesting to see what comes of this, i look forward to you keeping us posted like always, thanks…

Michelle on
February 12th, 2013 9:27 pm

Bigger and better company’s are taken over

Sylvie on
February 13th, 2013 12:09 am

maybe they are no longer partner with SeminoleEcig and got bought out or are them now?? when you click on link that the BBB has on thesafecig it takes you to Seminoleecig site…

jimpo42 on
February 13th, 2013 12:10 am

I’m surprised there hasn’t been a peep on twitter from them. I mean anyone with access to that account could shoot out a tweet saying hey this happened.

Courtney on
February 13th, 2013 12:16 am

Great article.

Cordell on
February 13th, 2013 3:17 am

Good read

slap_maxwell on
February 13th, 2013 5:26 am

As usual Klaus digs up some interesting stuff. That is a peculiar way for a business to behave…were any customers left in the lurch with unfulfilled orders that you know of?

Morrinb on
February 13th, 2013 5:27 am

Interesting thoughts…

Scott McKirahan on
February 13th, 2013 6:25 am

I would think the most likely scenario is, like many, many, many other companies that used this same affiliate-based marketing model with an overpriced e-cig offering a “lifetime warranty,” Safecig’s “lifetime” expired when the returns and commissions owed to people who linked to them exceeded their income. They never said it was for your lifetime, did they? They made a bundle on an e-cig that can be bought for $8 wholesale!

Never fear, they will surface again under a completely new name and will start up the whole charade again. They’ll recruit the same affiliates they used in the past and owe money to, but those affiliates will never realize it is the same company. Those affiliates will market the re-branded version of the same exact e-cigarette to the same people who never did get their lifetime warranties from safecig. If they are like many other here today, gone tomorrow e-cig companies, they might even use the same address for the next company. 1051 Cole Avenue Los Angeles, CA, 90038 appears to be just a virtual address, anyway.

Todd on
February 13th, 2013 7:35 am

Interesting find. Oddly I just ran into my safecig kit I won on this site ages ago and had given to my mother and was debating on passing it along to someone else since she abandoned it. I don’t know how well I would feel with big pharma getting up in the middle of things… so I’m going to lead for now towards “I hope not”

MrsCasey on
February 13th, 2013 10:16 am

Thanks for the article Klaus. I am not too comfortable with the idea of pharmaceutical companies jumping into the game as I have a feeling it will not be a good thing for Vapers. I will be watching for updates on this story.

nice blog. I still don’t like the idea of drug companies or any power house company getting involved in ecigs. I want to see the little guys make this into something big.

Ralph on
February 14th, 2013 3:24 am

interesting, would like to know where the speculation leads to

mongrel on
February 14th, 2013 5:09 am

Very interesting

GhOsT DoGg 79 on
February 14th, 2013 5:34 pm

very indeed

Karla Lyle (MsV8PR) on
February 15th, 2013 11:52 am

Wow. Had no idea Safe Cig was gone. That was the very first ecig I purchased although I never received the product and git a refund. I just got luck and ended up getting an EGO instead. I was not real happy with their customer service, as it took months to get my money refunded and it was incredibly difficult to even reach anyone. Only reason I got a response was because I posted publicly on their FB page. I bet that has something to do with the company being gone now. I say Good Riddence.

Chad on
February 16th, 2013 5:35 am

Very good point. It’s only a matter of time before big Pharm moves in. I can see Nicorette making a go at ecigs.

Johnathan Brown (Sepsis) on
February 16th, 2013 5:55 pm

Nice article and does have some sound logic behind it.

Karla Lyle (MsV8PR) on
February 17th, 2013 1:22 am

They must not have been doing very well. Their prices were too high so people probably started with them but moved on to bigger and better. Their customer retention was probably horrid.

Philippe Caron-Boutin on
February 17th, 2013 9:49 am

thank

B on
February 19th, 2013 5:24 am

I’ve been a Safe Cig customer for 3 years now. I’ve tried other brands and I always stuck with Safe Cig because they had my favorite Menthol. I’m pretty upset as I’m just hearing of this now and it will be time to get refills soon. I know they had issues with stocking refills, and I filled out a popup survey a couple of months ago. I know that they just revamped their site and added a 24 hour help line recently. And also, last I knew everything was marked down 20% for a couple of months. I’ll probably just stop completely if they don’t come back. Why bother.

Any other long time Safe Cig users out there? I’ve been searching online for more info in hopes that it’s just a domain renewal issue (the domain name has been parked) or something. Thanks for letting us know what’s going on. As you said, a tweet from someone at the company would be nice.

Holly DeLain on
February 19th, 2013 5:26 pm

Wow! I had no idea and am a bit sad over it. The SafeCig is the one e-cig that has came close to making my hubby a convert! He loves their batteries and flavors. I won a kit here on ECA but couldn’t afford to keep up with the actual SafeCig products… they are/were a bit pricey! But, to try to replace one of the SC batts that my hubby had destroyed, I purchased a RN4081 batt from another place that was a lot cheaper. Well, the quality of the cheap one was just that… cheap! It didn’t even come close to the quality of the SC batt! oh well…
Hope you keep us updated Klaus.. And thanks for the article.

Mike Z on
February 19th, 2013 6:35 pm

I never heard of SafeCig until now? I guess it’s time to stretch now that I have crawled out from underneath my rock!

ManuDawg on
February 19th, 2013 11:06 pm

Very interested in seeing what happens with SafeCig. Thanks for the article Klaus.

I’m shocked to hear from a reader named B who said “I’ve been a Safe Cig customer for 3 years now. I’ve tried other brands and I always stuck with Safe Cig because they had my favorite Menthol. I’m pretty upset as I’m just hearing of this now and it will be time to get refills soon. I know they had issues with stocking refills, and I filled out a popup survey a couple of months ago. I know that they just revamped their site and added a 24 hour help line recently. And also, last I knew everything was marked down 20% for a couple of months. I’ll probably just stop completely if they don’t come back. Why bother.”
Why would you give up smoking for 3 whole years because you don’t want to do a little research or ask people who makes a comparable menthol flavored juice? That is inane and such a waste in my opinion! There are far too many great vendors and products who won’t rip you off with the kind prices “Safe Cig” was charging you. Why wouldn’t you go to ECF or Vapors Lounge on FB to ask for help? Many vendors would be happy to help make you whatever flavor you want. I sincerely hope you won’t give up vaping for such a silly reason in my book.
C.B.

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